Amex Credit Cards have come a long way in India. They are one of the best credit cards in India and worldwide. A lot has been said about their concierge and service. However, this guide is related to the “Benefits of Amex Credit Card,” including how to maximize your points, its transfer partners, and much more. We are not reviewing credit cards but informing you about aspects of Amex and how you can use them to make the most of Amex Credit Cards in India.
Type of Amex Cards
There are two types of Amex Cards: Credit Cards and Charge Cards. Charge Cards do not come with a spending limit, but recently, an internal limit of INR 8-10 Lacs has been set on them. Apart from that, they are similar to standard Credit Cards.
Cities where you can apply for an Amex Card
Not all cities are eligible to apply for an Amex Card. You can apply for Amex Cards from the below cities:
| North | South | West | East |
| Chandigarh | Bangalore | Indore | Bhubaneswar |
| Delhi/NCR | Chennai | Bhopal | Kolkata |
| Gurgaon | Coimbatore | Mumbai | Vijayawada |
| Noida | Ernakulam | Pune | Vizag |
| Jaipur | Hyderabad | Surat | Cuttack |
| Ludhiana | Trivandrum | Vadodara | |
| Lucknow | Mysore | Nagpur | |
| Cochin | Nashik | ||
| Kanchipuram | Ahmedabad |
Although the list is extensive, particular pin-code may not be serviceable.
List of Amex Credit Cards in India
Amex has the most straightforward yet powerful list of credit cards. Right now (Jan’23), there are 6 Amex Credit Cards in India.
These six credit cards are:
- American Express Platinum Card
- American Express SmartEarn Credit Card
- American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card
- American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card
- American Express Gold Credit Card
- American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
Fees and Welcome Benefits
The annual fees for Amex credit cards are among the highest in India. But these high fees are well compensated by the welcome and sometimes renewal benefits.
This is how much annual fees you need to pay and the welcome benefits you get:
| Credit Cards | 1st Year Fee | 2nd Year Onwards Fees | Welcome Benefits |
| American Express Platinum Card | INR 66K | INR 66K | Stay vouchers (INR 45K)* |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | INR 495 | INR 495 | INR 500 Cashback |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | INR 1K | INR 4.5K | 4k Points |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | INR 10K | INR 10K | 11K Points |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | INR 1K | INR 4.5K | 4K Points |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | INR 3.5K | INR 5K | 10K Points |
Note: If you upgrade to the American Express Platinum Card in an offer, you can receive up to 1,35,000 Amex Points instead of a stay voucher. The Fees for the Platinum Charge card will increase to INR 66K next month.
Annual Fees on Add-on Cards
You can also get an Add-on Amex card but with fewer Annual fees. Here are the Annual Fees and limit on the number of add-on cards on Amex Credit Cards:
| Credit Cards | Free Add-on Cards | Fees/Per Add On |
| American Express Platinum Card | 4 | INR 10000 |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | 1 | INR 250 |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | 2 | INR 1500 |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | 4 | INR 1500 |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | 2 | INR 1000 |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | 2 | INR 1500 |
How to get a waiver for annual fees?
Amex is generous in waiving annual fees, not as a feature of the card but rather via their customer care. However, there are cards on which you can get fee waivers:
| Credit Cards | Fee Waived on |
| American Express Platinum Card | Not Waived |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | Spend of INR 40K |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | 100% on Spend of INR 1.5 Lacs or 50% on Spend of INR 90K |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | Not Waived |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | Not Waived |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | Not Waived |
Base Points Earning on Amex Cards
Every Amex Credit Card except one has a default reward rate of 1 point for every INR 50 spent, but exclusions apply. Here are the card-wise base earning, spending requirements and exclusions:
| Credit Cards | Points Earned | Amount Spent | Exclusions |
| American Express Platinum Card | 1 | INR 40 | Insurance and Utilities |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | 1 | INR 50 | Fuel, Insurance and Utilities |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | 1 | INR 50 | Fuel, Insurance and Utilities |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | 1 | INR 50 | Fuel, Insurance and Utilities |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | 1 | INR 50 | Insurance |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | 1 | INR 50 | Fuel, Insurance and Utilities |
Bonus Points Earning on Amex Credit Cards
Bonus Points Earning is unique for every Amex Credit Card in India. If you hold the lowest credit card even, then you can earn bonus points. Here is the Bonus Points feature Amex Credit Card wise:
| Credit Cards | Bonus Points |
| American Express Platinum Card | 3x Points on International Spends |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | 10x Zomato (500 Max) 10x Flipkart, Ajio, Nykaa, BookMyShow, Uber (500 Max) 5x Amazon (500 Max) |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | 1000 Points on 4*INR 1500 each Per month, and 1000 Points INR 20k Spend Per month (Enrollment) |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | 1K Voucher for INR 50K Spent Per Month (Enrollment) |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | 1500 Points on 4*INR 1500 Per month |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | 15K Points on INR 1.9 Lacs Per Year, and 25K Points on INR 4.0 Lacs Per Year |
Read: Amex India Current Offers
Fuel Spending: Surcharge Waiver and Points
Amex has a tie-up with HPCL. So, every time you fill up at HPCL and pay with Amex, a 0% fuel surcharge will be levied on transactions less than INR 5000. You also earn points on American Express Platinum and Gold Credit Card. In the case of the American Express Platinum Card, you earn 5 points per INR 100 spent, with 4 points credited as bonus points. Meanwhile, the Amex Gold Card earns 1 point for every 50 INR spent on fuel.
Amex Reward Multiplier Points Earning
Reward Multiplier from Amex helps you earn bonus points on every purchase.
This is how many points every card earns:
| Credit Cards | Reward Multiplier Points |
| American Express Platinum Card | 5x |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | 2x |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | 2x |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | 3x |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | 5x |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | 3x |
A maximum of 25000 Bonus points can be earned from the reward multiplier.
Related: 24x Points Offer for Amex Rewards Multiplier.
Amex RewardXcelerator Bonus
As an Amex Platinum and Centurion cardholder, you get 10x to 20x points for select merchants with Amex RewardXcelerator. There is no limit on this.
Lounge Access on Amex Credit Cards
Not all Amex Credit Cards give access to lounges. If you don’t already know, there are American Express lounges worldwide.
Here are the card-wise Lounge Access availability and limits:
| Credit Cards | Lounge Access | Limits |
| American Express Platinum Card | Yes | Unlimited |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | No | NA |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | No | NA |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | Yes | 2/Yr |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | No | NA |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | Yes | 8/yr (2 In a Quarter) |
American Express Platinum is a great credit card for lounge access worldwide. You can also access the lounge on Delta. Earlier, the benefit was available on a few other airlines, like Lufthansa.
Check here for more details on Amex Lounge Access.
Complimentary Memberships
Amex India also offers complimentary memberships on its cards.
| Credit Cards | Memberships |
| American Express Platinum Card | Taj Reimagined Epicure Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status Hilton Honors Gold Status Radisson Rewards Premium Status Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Accor Plus Postcard Hotel Sunshine Platinum Elite I Prefer Titanium Elite OTT’s |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | No |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | No |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | Accor Plus Traveller Taj Epicure EazyDiner |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | No |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | No |
Amex Points Transfer Partners in India
| Partner | Type | Minimum Transfer Points | Get Points | Points Increments |
| Asia Miles | Airlines | 800 Points | 400 Miles | 800 |
| British Airways Executive Club | Airlines | 1200 Points | 600 Avios | 600 |
| Club Vistara | Airlines | 900 Points | 300 Club Vistara Points | 900 |
| Emirates Skywards | Airlines | 800 Points | 400 Skywards Miles | 800 |
| Etihad Guest | Airlines | 1600 Points | 800 Etihad Guest Miles | 800 |
| Hilton Honors | Hotels | 1000 Points | 900 Hilton Points | 100 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Hotels | 100 Points | 100 Marriott Bonvoy Points | 100 |
| PAYBACK | Others | 1 Point | 1 PAYBACK Points | 1 |
| Qatar Privilege Club | Airlines | 500 Points | 250 Avios | 100 |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | Airlines | 800 Points | 400 KrisFlyer Miles | 800 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Airlines | 800 Points | 400 Virgin Points | 400 |
Validity of Amex Points
Amex Credit Card points never expire, so you can accumulate and make a significant transfer while there are transfer offers, similar to the Asia Miles Transfer offer or Qatar Airways Transfer Bonus.
There are offers on transfer to Marriott from time to time.
Redemption of Rewards Points
You can use the points earned in four ways:
- Use to pay for charges or spending
- Use on Amex Travel Online Portal
- Use by transferring Points
- Use on 18 or 24 Karat Collections or Vouchers
- Use them for Experiences.
The value of one point for paying charges differs on amex credit cards. For Example, the Amex MRCC credit card has INR 0.25, and the Amex Travel credit card has INR 0.3 value per point. The Maximum value of INR 0.45 per point is for the Amex Platinum Card.
Amex 18K and 24K Gold Collections
Amex has 18000 Karat and 24000 Karat Gold collections. These collections are available only on two Amex cards. You can get these collections with the following cards:
- American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card
- American Express Gold Credit Card
18000 Points or 18 Karat Collections
You can use your 18000 points for 18 karat collections and choose any one of the following:
- Taj voucher worth INR 9,000
- Shoppers Stop voucher worth INR 7,000
- Myntra voucher worth INR 7,000
- Tata Cliq voucher worth INR 7,000
- Amazon voucher worth INR 6,000
- Reliance Digital voucher worth INR 6,000
- Flipkart voucher worth INR 6,000
At a maximum voucher of INR 9000, you get INR 0.5 value per point.
24000 Points or 24 Karat Collections
You can use your 24000 points for 24 karat collections and choose any one of the following:
- Taj voucher worth INR 14,000
- Shoppers Stop voucher worth INR 10,000
- Tata Cliq voucher worth INR 9,000
- Tanishq voucher worth INR 9,000
- Amazon voucher worth INR 8,000
- Reliance Digital voucher worth INR 8,000
- Flipkart voucher worth INR 8,000
At a maximum voucher of INR 14000, you get INR 0.58 value per point.
Can you get 18k & 24k collections with other Amex Cards?
Yes and No! You can combine points from two credit cards, and if any of your cards are the cards whose points you can use for these collections, then you can use these pooled points. So, there is an indirect way to use your other card for 18K and 24K collections.
Apply for an Amex Card
You can apply for an Amex Card yourself; however, you get bonus points when applying through a referral link. At one point of time, you can have three Amex Credit Card & one Charge Card.
| Cards | Link | Referral Benefit |
| American Express Platinum Card | Apply [Click on View All Cards] | 10K Bonus |
| American Express SmartEarn Credit Card | Apply [Click on View All Cards] | 2K Bonus |
| American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card | Apply | 2K Bonus |
| American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card | Apply [Click on View All Cards] | 4K Bonus |
| American Express Gold Credit Card | Apply | 2K Bonus |
| American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card | Apply | 2K Bonus |
Bottomline
Amex Credit Cards in India fit the bills for almost all types of consumers. A fantastic thing about Amex is that you can earn many points and even use these points effectively. These points can easily be transferred to other partners with a decent conversion ratio, even for low-end cards. If you can’t get your hands on a premium card, having an Amex Card is worth having.
